This is my first reading of The Witches, and as with others of Dahl’s books, I found it darkly humorous. Dahl doesn’t pull any punches. His witches are real, grotesque and out to do away with all the children of the world. The main character, a little orphaned boy, isn’t just threatened with being turned into a mouse—he is turned into a mouse! The only time I got creeped out was when the mouse-boy was contemplating his now-shortened lifespan and decided he wanted to die at the same time as his grandmother, who was taking care of him. My only complaint about The Witches was that it either went on for too long or not long enough. The end is a rather long detailing of the mouse-boy’s and his grandmother’s plans to do away with the remaining witches, but we never see those plans carried out. I presume they were successful since no children I know have been disappeared by witches. Overall, though, this is a dark but fun read for children.